Only a couple of shades
by Izumi-no-Junko
Summary: A few short EriEq stories. All kind of One Shots. Feel free to R&R if you want !
1. Chapter 1

I woke cool and comfortable in the welcoming embrace of slime. In the recuperacoon I tried to stretch, unwilling to get out quite yet. I couldn't move far, the space smaller than I was used to. My hands grazed something hard, with my eyes closed it felt like the wall. A moment of rest upon it earned me the realization it had moved. Walls couldn't move. It was solid flesh beneath my fingers. I panicked. I didn't remember bringing someone home with me that morning, in fact I couldn't remember anything about the night before or the morning it lead into. Slowly I shifted, fingers searching for the recuperacoon's opening. I froze as limbs that were not mine stirred the slime as they reached out for me. A moment passed and the grip loosened. Fingers curled around the lip of the recuperation and I pulled myself out as slowly as possible.

I was less than graceful as I slid to the floor but my feet at least landed silently. I could feel my clothes as they clung to me. At least I was fully clothed. I could feel the flesh on my face heat as I wondered if whoever I had been nestled up next to had been clothed at all. I had felt bare skin. I wiped the green from my eyes as I tried to survey my surroundings in the hopes that it would jog my memory. Bits and pieces of metal lay strewn about in various stages of creation. One corner revealed wood and string snapped and disregarded. I knew where I was the moment I set my eyes upon the robots who's faces looked the worse for wear. How had I ended up in Equius's hive?

Spore slime dripped to collect as my feet while sleep called its fog from my mind. Clarity had me wishing for ignorance once again. Yesterday had not been kind to me.

Feferi, the girl whom I had grown up with, who was always there for me and had earned all of my palest pity had dumped me. Left me to wash up with the kelp and trash. She was tired of me, I'd caused her too much trouble and now that she didn't think I was a danger she was free to let me go and to move on. What was I supposed to do when my heart had been broken in two by the one troll I held dear. I had begged, pleaded with her to give me a second chance but she refused. The damage had been done. I was a terrible moirail. I'd caused her nothing but grief and she had stayed only out of obligation.

A line of purple pushed green along with it as it trailed down to my chin.

I was horrible. I loved her. She was the one troll I could count on and I had fucked things up with her royally. She left me on the beach, watching as she disappeared under the waves. I watched long after the ripples of her dive where lost upon the sand. What had I done to lose her like that? Numb my feet had started to move on their own, creating a path of their choice. I didn't care where I went. I didn't care if I went anywhere at all. All I wanted to do was fill the void that Feferi had left when she vanished beneath the waves. It only confirmed what I had always feared. I was unloveable, unpitiable. Alone was my destiny.

In my sorrow my feet dragged me across land familiar and strange. When the sun began to rise I'd simply found a shadow at the base of a cliff I'd been following and let my body give in to the exhaustion. That was the last thing I remembered. How had I ended up here, in the home of someone I might have called a friend if I didn't know the truth. He like everyone else, only put up with me because of my station.

"High blood." The rumbling voice pulled me from my musings. I had not heard Equius climb out of the recuperation. How long had I just been standing there? The puddle I left suggested it had been longer than I thought.

"Equius I'm sorry I didn't mean to make a mess. Also you can call me Eridan you know."

"It is nothing, Aurthour will clean it up." Silence followed his statement. A part of me realized that he was still wearing pants, loosening a knot that had tied itself up in my chest. He did lack a shirt however, and I tried not to stare as I remembered that it had been his muscles that seemed so solid beneath my fingers. "I apologize for the state of your clothes. I had thought it improper to just remove them."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

"I know that we are not the same size but if you would take something from my closet I will have Authour clean the spore slime out of your clothes."

He was right, his clothes did not fit me, hanging baggy on a frame that was not as defined beneath them. Still I was grateful to be out of the damp fabric. I hated the way the slime clung clothing to skin. My strange host worked on what was likely another robot for him to vent on, fingers moving deftly to piece it all together. I just sat and watched unsure of what else I could do. I was about to go crazy from the sounds of metal against metal when he spoke again.

"My moirail tells me I am not good with feelings. However if you wish to converse with someone I can attempt to lend a hand."

My eyes widened under their lenses. Equius, the one notorious for his unusual antics was offering to help me? They fluttered back down as it was clear that he probably just felt it was his duty to help me. Sometimes I hated not knowing who really cared and who didn't because of my caste, I would never admit that to anyone.

"Its okay Equius. I just realized that I'm unpitiable is all." I had meant to sound calm, cool and collected yet my voice betrayed me, cracking on the last note. "Flushed or pale."

I said it out loud. Had I really just done that? It was the first time I'd ever admitted out loud my greatest fear. Not that it was just a fear anymore. I'd had it proven.

"I don't think you're unpitiable." There was a strain in his tone and he cranked something too hard. I heard it break as he sighed heavily.

"Its okay, you don't have to lie to me just because I'm a high blood. I know it's true so you can just admit it."

"It is not true." It was my turn to sigh. He was being stubborn like aways. How did Nepeta put up with him? When he went pick up whatever had flown off in the breaking of metal I spotted a blue bruise just beginning to form on one of his cheekbones.

"What happened?" I reached out, fingers stopping short of touching the skin though something within me begged for the contact. "You don't bruise easily."

"When I found you, you were in the throws of a daymare. I was bringing you back so you could escape the dreams in the slime when you hit me in the face."

Oops. I hadn't meant to attack him. I was grateful for the rescue from the daymares. A whole day of them would have left me frazzled and more worse off than I had been to start. There was something that shifted along his jaw, something strange. He sounded almost tender when he spoke. Equius was the last person I would have ever equated the word tender with. Yet there was the hint of a smile that tugged at his lips. It was there for only a moment but it left me speechless.

"I think Aurthour is done with your clothes." He stood too quickly, escaping the closeness my fingers had created. Sweat trickled down muscle lines. Was he avoiding my eyes?

"Equius." He didn't face me but he stiffened, hesitating at his name. "I demand you tell me what it is you're not saying."

I could see him start to shake and I instantly regretted my decision. He was a much stronger than I and if he was unhappy with anything I said he could punish me for it harshly. I watched his hand ball into a fist before curling back out. He formed a fist once, twice, three times before he turned back towards me. He still wouldn't meet my eyes behind his dark glass.

"You are not unpitiable because I have flushed feelings for you. Those are pity are they not." I blinked. That had not been what I was expecting. I stood, ignoring the pants as they slipped, threatening to fall off my hips entirely.

"Look at me." it was not a request it was an order and Equius would obey. I said nothing once his his chin moved to point at me. I had to roll up onto my toes to reach, to brush my lips along his softly. I had no words to say but I let my kiss speak for me. He returned it, arms crushing me against him. I didn't care, I welcomed the warm. Breath intermingled and lips parted only for a moment before meeting again. The void Feferi had left had not been filled but instead soothed by a heart filling with a wave of heat and red.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Equius."

Oh gog. I couldn't believe that I was about to do what I was about to do. How low was I going to stoop, was I really this desperate? I sighed heavily with my decision.

"How can I help you sea dweller?"

The odd boy was taller than me, his face obscured by his ridiculous sunglasses. They made him look like a dork. They were broken. Would it kill him to replace them? Even as I silently questioned what I was about to do I noticed the lack of venom in the way he said sea dweller. Usually it was used as an insult. He almost said it with respect. Almost.

"I just wanted to ask, who are you going to the dance with?" I tried to sound as bored as possible. It was the most important thing on my mind but I didn't want him to know that.

"No one. I believe your moirail has taken my pale date away." I was surprised Equius usually had final say over what Nepeta did. "I am glad she is doing so well for herself even if it is far above her caste."

"Uh, right." I tried not to pout. I wasn't happy with that arrangement. Feferi's recent flushed conquest she left me without anyone to go to the dance with. I was not going to go alone. Going alone would make me look like such a loser and that would not due for someone of my standing. "Well would you like to go with me?"

"Are you not going with Sollux?" I cringed at the name.

"He told me if I asked again he would personally remove my think pan from my shoulders. Besides he's goin' with Karkat."

The silence that followed my question was crushing and I wanted nothing more than to just disappear. I was being rejected by the weirdest person in the school. I really was the most pathetic troll in the universe. How had the lack of words trapped me so? I couldn't move, frozen in this horrifying moment. I had finally managed to turn away from the taller troll when I was graced with a response.

"I will accompany you."

"Oh, great. See you at eight?"

"Yes." Equius left as the word continued to hang in the air. I hadn't been expecting him to accept. My cheeks heated as I headed home, glad that I wouldn't have to hide at home. I tried not to think about how he'd probably only accepted because I was above him in the hemospectum. Weirdo still held onto the places even though most people didn't care anymore. Well if it had earned me a date then it didn't matter. Even if it was just a fake date.

I was surprised I made it back to the school on time. My hair had been giving me problems and I refused to be seen without it perfectly in place. I was proud of my suit, sleek and pinstriped with purple to match my hair. The pants hugged my legs and my tie was nearly as thin. I looked good. Sollux would be sorry that he blew me off for that angry grub he called a friend. I was still fussing with my hair when a dark shadow fell over my face.

Oh. My. Gog.

To say that Equius cleaned up nicely would be an understatement. I don't know what I had been expecting. His beat up old tank top or his damaged glasses maybe but neither nice was to be found. His suit was tailored and his glasses in tact. Even his hair was nicely parted. My words caught in my throat and I just gaped at him as he strode up to me. His face twitched, I couldn't read the feeling behind his expression and he just held out an arm for me to take. Like he thought he was some kind of gentleman and I was a lady. I took it, my face touched with dusting of purple.

Walking into the heavily decorated gym I could feel our classmate's eyes on us. There was Sollux, his face pinched with what I hoped was jealousy. The hush we caused lasted only a moment and it wasn't long before the two of us clung to the wall, music pulsing through the painted brick. Well this was more awkward than if I had come alone or not at all. Yet I wasn't regretting my decision, watching my last minute date out of the corner of my eye. His expression never changed, he was mysterious in a creepy kind of way.

"Does no one have any pride. This is a lewd display." He was frowning at Gamzee and Tavros. Admittedly it looked as thought Gamzee was less than interested in who was watching and was more focused on his date. Their locked lips just depressed me more. I couldn't watch this anymore.

"Equius. Dance with me." I held out my hand, trying to stand as tall as possible. It was as much an order as a request. Even at my full height he towered over me. He stared at my hand for a moment before taking it and letting me lead him out onto a part of the floor that hadn't been taken by swaying bodies yet. What followed surprised me more than his appearance had.

He could dance. I didn't mean the shuffle his feet in time kind of dancing. Equius pulled my body along with his, moving more gracefully than I had ever thought someone of his size could. Since when had he been graceful like this? I had always just seen him as a clumsy troll but he was proving himself to music embodied on his feet. His strength was being held in check, I could feel it in his limbs as he held me close. His hips against mine swayed in a rhythm I had never felt until this moment. He was beauty on the dance floor. My face flushed a deep purple. This was a side of him I had never expected. In this moment, locked within his arm I found myself aware of the pounding of my heart. Right now I was the luckiest troll in the room.

"Isn't this rather lewd?" Mentally I kicked myself for the question, I didn't want this to feeling to stop.

"No, dancing like this is tradition. At least… for the flushed quadrant." The blue that spread along his grey skin was beautiful in a way I never thought he could be.

That night ended with a kiss that sealed my fate. With one dance Equius had won my heart completely.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke cool and comfortable in the welcoming embrace of slime. In the recuperacoon I tried to stretch, unwilling to get out quite yet. I couldn't move far, the space smaller than I was used to. My hands grazed something hard, with my eyes closed it felt like the wall. A moment of rest upon it earned me the realization it had moved. Walls couldn't move. It was solid flesh beneath my fingers. I panicked. I didn't remember bringing someone home with me that morning, in fact I couldn't remember anything about the night before or the morning it lead into. Slowly I shifted, fingers searching for the recuperacoon's opening. I froze as limbs that were not mine stirred the slime as they reached out for me. A moment passed and the grip loosened. Fingers curled around the lip of the recuperation and I pulled myself out as slowly as possible.

I was less than graceful as I slid to the floor but my feet at least landed silently. I could feel my clothes as they clung to me. At least I was fully clothed. I could feel the flesh on my face heat as I wondered if whoever I had been nestled up next to had been clothed at all. I had felt bare skin. I wiped the green from my eyes as I tried to survey my surroundings in the hopes that it would jog my memory. Bits and pieces of metal lay strewn about in various stages of creation. One corner revealed wood and string snapped and disregarded. I knew where I was the moment I set my eyes upon the robots who's faces looked the worse for wear. How had I ended up in Equius's hive?

Spore slime dripped to collect as my feet while sleep called its fog from my mind. Clarity had me wishing for ignorance once again. Yesterday had not been kind to me.

Feferi, the girl whom I had grown up with, who was always there for me and had earned all of my palest pity had dumped me. Left me to wash up with the kelp and trash. She was tired of me, I'd caused her too much trouble and now that she didn't think I was a danger she was free to let me go and to move on. What was I supposed to do when my heart had been broken in two by the one troll I held dear. I had begged, pleaded with her to give me a second chance but she refused. The damage had been done. I was a terrible moirail. I'd caused her nothing but grief and she had stayed only out of obligation.

A line of purple pushed green along with it as it trailed down to my chin.

I was horrible. I loved her. She was the one troll I could count on and I had fucked things up with her royally. She left me on the beach, watching as she disappeared under the waves. I watched long after the ripples of her dive where lost upon the sand. What had I done to lose her like that? Numb my feet had started to move on their own, creating a path of their choice. I didn't care where I went. I didn't care if I went anywhere at all. All I wanted to do was fill the void that Feferi had left when she vanished beneath the waves. It only confirmed what I had always feared. I was unloveable, unpitiable. Alone was my destiny.

In my sorrow my feet dragged me across land familiar and strange. When the sun began to rise I'd simply found a shadow at the base of a cliff I'd been following and let my body give in to the exhaustion. That was the last thing I remembered. How had I ended up here, in the home of someone I might have called a friend if I didn't know the truth. He like everyone else, only put up with me because of my station.

"High blood." The rumbling voice pulled me from my musings. I had not heard Equius climb out of the recuperation. How long had I just been standing there? The puddle I left suggested it had been longer than I thought.

"Equius I'm sorry I didn't mean to make a mess. Also you can call me Eridan you know."

"It is nothing, Aurthour will clean it up." Silence followed his statement. A part of me realized that he was still wearing pants, loosening a knot that had tied itself up in my chest. He did lack a shirt however, and I tried not to stare as I remembered that it had been his muscles that seemed so solid beneath my fingers. "I apologize for the state of your clothes. I had thought it improper to just remove them."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

"I know that we are not the same size but if you would take something from my closet I will have Authour clean the spore slime out of your clothes."

He was right, his clothes did not fit me, hanging baggy on a frame that was not as defined beneath them. Still I was grateful to be out of the damp fabric. I hated the way the slime clung clothing to skin. My strange host worked on what was likely another robot for him to vent on, fingers moving deftly to piece it all together. I just sat and watched unsure of what else I could do. I was about to go crazy from the sounds of metal against metal when he spoke again.

"My moirail tells me I am not good with feelings. However if you wish to converse with someone I can attempt to lend a hand."

My eyes widened under their lenses. Equius, the one notorious for his unusual antics was offering to help me? They fluttered back down as it was clear that he probably just felt it was his duty to help me. Sometimes I hated not knowing who really cared and who didn't because of my caste, I would never admit that to anyone.

"Its okay Equius. I just realized that I'm unpitiable is all." I had meant to sound calm, cool and collected yet my voice betrayed me, cracking on the last note. "Flushed or pale."

I said it out loud. Had I really just done that? It was the first time I'd ever admitted out loud my greatest fear. Not that it was just a fear anymore. I'd had it proven.

"I don't think you're unpitiable." There was a strain in his tone and he cranked something too hard. I heard it break as he sighed heavily.

"Its okay, you don't have to lie to me just because I'm a high blood. I know it's true so you can just admit it."

"It is not true." It was my turn to sigh. He was being stubborn like aways. How did Nepeta put up with him? When he went pick up whatever had flown off in the breaking of metal I spotted a blue bruise just beginning to form on one of his cheekbones.

"What happened?" I reached out, fingers stopping short of touching the skin though something within me begged for the contact. "You don't bruise easily."

"When I found you, you were in the throws of a daymare. I was bringing you back so you could escape the dreams in the slime when you hit me in the face."

Oops. I hadn't meant to attack him. I was grateful for the rescue from the daymares. A whole day of them would have left me frazzled and more worse off than I had been to start. There was something that shifted along his jaw, something strange. He sounded almost tender when he spoke. Equius was the last person I would have ever equated the word tender with. Yet there was the hint of a smile that tugged at his lips. It was there for only a moment but it left me speechless.

"I think Aurthour is done with your clothes." He stood too quickly, escaping the closeness my fingers had created. Sweat trickled down muscle lines. Was he avoiding my eyes?

"Equius." He didn't face me but he stiffened, hesitating at his name. "I demand you tell me what it is you're not saying."

I could see him start to shake and I instantly regretted my decision. He was a much stronger than I and if he was unhappy with anything I said he could punish me for it harshly. I watched his hand ball into a fist before curling back out. He formed a fist once, twice, three times before he turned back towards me. He still wouldn't meet my eyes behind his dark glass.

"You are not unpitiable because I have flushed feelings for you. Those are pity are they not." I blinked. That had not been what I was expecting. I stood, ignoring the pants as they slipped, threatening to fall off my hips entirely.

"Look at me." it was not a request it was an order and Equius would obey. I said nothing once his his chin moved to point at me. I had to roll up onto my toes to reach, to brush my lips along his softly. I had no words to say but I let my kiss speak for me. He returned it, arms crushing me against him. I didn't care, I welcomed the warm. Breath intermingled and lips parted only for a moment before meeting again. The void Feferi had left had not been filled but instead soothed by a heart filling with a wave of heat and red.


End file.
